Chapter 172

"... It was Auntie Manyue from Mother Li's house; she took Seeing Qian Bao away." Gu Lan, lying on the bed, struggled to sit up. She had lost too much blood, and her voice was weak. "Third Aunt, I saw her holding Seeing Qian Bao and heading toward the back mountain. I went to stop her, but I couldn't..."

The "Auntie Manyue" Gu Lan spoke of was the daughter-in-law of Mother Li, known throughout the Fengshou Brigade as a notorious punching bag—

Having married into the Li family for years without bearing children, she endured the eye-rolling and gossip of the brigade's busybodies. She also had a mother-in-law, Mother Li, who treated granddaughters like grass and only cared for grandsons, tormenting her daily. She rose the earliest, did the most work, and ate the least... Even the children in the Li family could "step" on her. Her life was extremely bitter.

Gu Lan hated herself for being useless; her eyes turned red instantly, and her face was full of guilt. "Third Aunt, I'm sorry, I didn't save Seeing Qian Bao."

She felt she had failed the kindness Third Aunt had shown her.

The wound on the little girl's forehead was wrapped tightly, with fresh red blood faintly seeping through the gauze. Her lips were dry and peeling, devoid of any color.

She was only twelve, thin and weak, lying on the big bed, appearing even more small and helpless.

Seeing her daughter's guilt-ridden face, Huang Xiulan rubbed the corners of her eyes and couldn't help but speak up for her: "How old are you? A child like you, how could you possibly handle a woman like Zhang Manyue who does heavy labor all day and has the strength of an ox? All the fault lies with that black-hearted, rotten-lunged lunatic! Why are you blaming yourself?!"

These words were also meant specifically for the Third Sister-in-law to hear.

Huang Xiulan remembered the scene she had seen earlier—her daughter lying silently on the ground, a large pool of blood, her little face as pale as death. It had scared her so much she almost collapsed!

Just a little more, just a little more and her family would have been torn apart!

This was no exaggeration... If Alan had died, even if she knew it wasn't the Third Branch's fault, she could never have gotten along with the Third Sister-in-law without resentment as before. When a mother loses her daughter, what reason is there left?

Gu Mu had suffered one shock after another today: her little grandson kidnapped, her eldest granddaughter nearly beaten to death. When she heard the news, she couldn't catch her breath and fainted, only just having recovered.

The men of the family had all gone up the mountain to search.

The women stayed behind to watch over the children.

"Third Sister-in-law, don't blame Alan; this really isn't Alan's fault! Alan risked her life! To stop her, she herself..." Gu Mu's voice trembled violently. A strong woman her whole life, her tears hadn't stopped today. Her eyes were red and swollen, and her head throbbed.

"Your father and the others... the men of the village... have all gone into the mountains to chase after them. May the Heavens open their eyes... they will surely find my precious grandson! They surely will..." Her lips trembled. Thinking of her missing little grandson, old tears flowed again, her heart feeling as if it were being scraped by a dull knife.

"... I understand." Lin Zhao's eyes were sore and swollen.

She sat by the bed, grasped Gu Lan's cold little hand, and said in a slightly hoarse but steady voice: "I don't blame Alan. Third Aunt thanks you... for risking your life to save Seeing Qian Bao."

Her gaze swept over the scratches on the little girl's arms, and she paused, a look of heartache appearing in her eyes. "Our Alan has suffered."

Gu Lan curled her fingers slightly, subconsciously wanting to pull back her scarred arm, her soft voice carrying a touch of comfort.

"Third Aunt, don't worry too much. Grandpa, Father, and the others... have all gone to look. Seeing Qian Bao... will definitely be fine."

Lin Zhao forced a smile, helped Alan lie down, and instructed her to close her eyes and rest. She signaled for Gu Mu and the others to go out.

The group arrived in the courtyard.

"Mother, what did the Li family say?" Lin Zhao's voice was very faint, yet it could not hide the coldness.

Gu Mu was furious at the mention of the Li family, hating that annoying old woman Li for inviting such a mad dog that bites without barking!

Usually, she acted like a quail, low-browed and submissive, yet behind everyone's back, she could commit such a dark deed as kidnapping someone else's child!

A waste of her kindness, bah!

"The Li family has put out the word..." Gu Mu peeked at Lin Zhao's expression, not stopping her mouth, "saying that as long as that mad woman dares to step into their home, they will immediately sweep her out! The Li family members have also gone into the mountains to help look for people."

Lin Zhao sneered, "Shouldn't they have gone? Shouldn't they have been the first to rush up the mountain?!"

Her eyes were like frosted glass, and she said word by word: "If anything happens to Seeing Qian Bao, I will not spare the Li family."

After saying this, she turned and left the courtyard.

Gu Mu chased after her for a few steps, hurriedly calling out: "Third Sister-in-law, where are you going?"

"Up the mountain."

Two light words fell.

Lin Zhao took a deep breath, ran toward the foot of the mountain, and her figure quickly disappeared around the corner ahead.

The twins wanted to chase after her, but were pulled into Gu Mu's arms.

"You two don't go. So many people have gone up the mountain, and the wild beasts in the mountains have been startled. They are coming down the mountain to look for food now. With your small frames, you wouldn't even be enough to fill their teeth."

Yubao raised his head desperately, his swollen eyelids almost covering his eyes. "What about Seeing Qian Bao? Seeing Qian Bao is still in the mountain."

He stared fixedly at the direction Lin Zhao had left, biting his lip, plunged into immense regret and sadness, unable to even lift his head. "It's all my fault. I'm the big brother, and I didn't watch Seeing Qian Bao well."

Gu Mu's heart twisted into a knot. "Why blame yourself, you little child? You're only a little taller than the stove. If anyone is to blame, it's me, the grandmother who didn't watch Seeing Qian Bao well."

"Don't blame Grandma, and don't blame Brother!" Hengbao clenched his little fists tightly, a gloominess erupting in his eyes that didn't belong to his age. "Blame that bad woman! It's all her fault!"

He was the child who, upon hearing his little brother had been carried up the mountain, immediately thought of bringing Seeing Da Huang, a sickle, and food (dry pancakes and water)... to go up the mountain to save his brother.

He had ideas and the ability to act; it was just that he was still young. If he were a bit older, he would be incredible. Maybe Seeing Qian Bao would have been brought back already!

"Right, blame the bad person. I know why you two are crying like this." Gu Mu agreed.

"Go home first. Grandma will apply a compress to your eyes. Your eyes are swollen like this; when Seeing Qian Bao comes back, he won't recognize his big brothers."

Yubao looked toward the mountain again and again, only withdrawing his gaze after entering the door. "I'm afraid... I'm afraid Seeing Qian Bao won't come back, and I'm afraid he's scared. Grandma, will Seeing Qian Bao cry? Every time I think of Seeing Qian Bao crying, I want to cry too..."

In the mountains.

Seeing Qian Bao wasn't crying; the little dumpling was scared silly.

A gray-black wolf with terrifying fangs bit down hard on Zhang Manyue's arm, dragging her toward the woods while tearing and pulling.

Just a few steps away, there were several more wolves with green-glowing eyes and drooling mouths. Their greedy, fierce gazes were locked firmly on the fair, tender child who was being guarded by the big yellow dog, their mouths watering.

Another thin wolf rushed up, heading straight for the young child.

Seeing Da Huang let out a warning growl in its throat, baring its gleaming sharp teeth. The moment the wolf approached, its front paws, filled with power, swung out like lightning, smashing fiercely into the wolf's head.

"Awooo!"

The wolf flew backward, its body slamming into an old pine tree, then it tucked its tail and fled in a panic toward the depths of the woods, howling in pain.

Seeing Qian Bao's small body stood on the yellow, withered grass, his back pressed against the cold, hard cliff wall.

He touched Seeing Da Huang's fluffy, powerful tail, as if he had just come to his senses, and said softly with reliance: "Seeing Da Huang is truly great."

"Woof!" Seeing Da Huang responded, not daring to relax for a moment, its cold gaze locked firmly on the few hungry wolves in front, its throat emitting a few deterrent woofs.

It was fed three meals a day by Lin Zhao, its fur was sleek and shiny, its limbs were powerful, its fangs were sharp as blades, and it was in the prime of its fighting strength...

Even with fierce hungry wolves in front, it had the strength to fight.

Protecting the little master was Seeing Da Huang's only thought!

A hair-raising chewing sound came from the grass nearby, which had previously been mixed with shrill cries, but now it was all gone.

Suddenly—

"Seeing Qian Bao..."

"Seeing Da Huang..."

Vague, familiar, and anxious calls were carried by the mountain wind.

Seeing Da Huang's ears perked up, and then it barked frantically, one sound louder than the next.

Gu Chenghuai carried a hunting rifle, weaving through the narrow mountain paths, checking for traces among the broken branches and grass leaves from time to time, tracking rapidly along the latest signs.

The men from the security committee following behind carried hoes and iron wires, all of them panting and sweating, their physical strength not even remotely comparable to that of a soldier trained for years.

"Hey! Wait! There's dog barking—" Security Committee Captain Zhang Yongqiang stopped abruptly, tilted his head to listen for a few breaths, and said uncertainly: "Listen, is this... the sound of the big yellow dog raised by the Gu family...?"

Before the words were finished.

A figure flashed before their eyes.

Gu Chenghuai had already dived down like an arrow from a bow, without hesitation, from a steep, narrow path covered by shrubs that was almost vertical... plunging straight down toward the source of the barking.

His vigorous figure disappeared into the dense thicket below in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Yongqiang witnessed this scene, his heart hanging in his throat, and he shouted urgently: "... Dangerous! You can't go down that way!" His voice was sharp and distorted.

That "small path" that was almost a cliff was a dead end that villagers avoided. Below the slope was a hundred-foot-deep cliff; if a person fell, there would be nothing left.

Zhang Yongqiang's scalp tingled, and he made a decisive decision, leading the people to continue running wildly along the relatively safe main path.

"Don't go that way! Follow me around! Hurry!"

After shouting, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to lead his men to accelerate their journey.

Gu Chenghuai's body continued to slide down the steep slope, the huge inertia almost throwing him off the cliff.

At the critical moment, his long legs hooked onto a tree stump the size of a bowl nearby, and he forcibly stabilized himself.

Then, using the force to swing, he nimbly lunged toward the gentle slope nearby.

After running rapidly for a few more minutes, Gu Chenghuai stopped at the edge of a slightly higher cliff.

He scanned downward with sharp eyes, capturing the small, safe figure in the valley below.

He let out a sigh of relief, and his hanging heart finally fell halfway.

His gaze focused on Seeing Da Huang.

Several hungry gray shadows were baring their teeth and growling at it, hunting in a surrounding formation.

Seeing Da Huang's fur was bristling, but its posture was firm, standing half a step in front of the young child, not retreating a single step!

Without the slightest hesitation.

Gu Chenghuai raised the hunting rifle in his hand, the muzzle instantly locked onto the target, and he decisively pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

The wolf fell to the ground in response.

"Bang!"

The second one fell.

The wolf king, hiding in the dark, was startled by the gunshot and was about to raise its head when the third bullet whistled over.

The remaining wolves lost their backbone and fled in a panic.

Gu Chenghuai knew wolves held grudges, so he didn't let them go. With a few more bangs, those wolves fell to the ground one after another.

Having dealt with the beasts that treated his Seeing Qian Bao as a meal, he observed the terrain and quickly found a gentle slope to slide down.

His feet had just touched the ground.

Seeing Da Huang rushed over excitedly, "Woof woof woof, woof woof woof!" (Why did you only just come? The cub was almost scared to tears!)

Gu Chenghuai rubbed Seeing Da Huang's head and praised: "You've earned great merit. I'll reward you with meat bones tomorrow!"

The words "meat bones" instantly ignited Seeing Da Huang.

It circled its master excitedly, its tail wagging happily, and whimpering sounds came from its throat.

Gu Chenghuai rushed to Seeing Qian Bao in three steps, bent down, and scooped the small body into his arms. He placed his warm, large palm on the back of his little son's head and said gently: "Scared, right? Don't be afraid anymore, Daddy is here."

Seeing Qian Bao didn't speak, only clutching his father's neck tightly. Gu Chenghuai felt wetness on his shoulder, and in that instant, his hard, calm heart felt as if it had been pricked by a needle.

His large hand rubbed the round little head, and the child's soft hair softened his heart.

Seeing the little master not speaking, Seeing Da Huang was so anxious it spun in place, swatted away a hungry wolf, placed its paws on its master's waist, stood up, and tried hard to stretch its dog face to look at the little master, "Woo... woof woof..." The sound was as gentle as coaxing, with a whine, as if it were coaxing its own cub.

Gu Chenghuai: "..."

He couldn't help but feel a sense of absurdity in his heart; those who didn't know would think it was the father!

Gu Chenghuai quickly shook off this inexplicable thought and said in an extremely gentle tone, "Do you want a rabbit?"

A rabbit?

Seeing Qian Bao's long, damp eyelashes trembled gently, and a teardrop fell on his father's shoulder.

He raised his little head, his eyes as bright as if washed by water, and said in a milky voice: "Yes."

Being able to speak meant he hadn't been scared silly. Gu Chenghuai's brow relaxed. Holding his son with one hand and the rifle with the other, he rushed up the slope and pulled out a snow-white rabbit tied up in a tangle of grass.

He had caught it on the way to coax his son.

Look, didn't it come in handy!

"Rabbit!" The childish little voice was full of deep surprise.

Seeing Qian Bao hugged the rabbit, his small, short hands wanting to untie the bindings on the rabbit. Finding he couldn't, he looked at his father for help.

Gu Chenghuai softened his voice and said: "Untie it when we get back. If you untie it now, the rabbit will run away with a kick."

Seeing Qian Bao nodded obediently.

Just then, a burst of messy footsteps approached from far to near.

Zhang Yongqiang came over, panting, followed by the anxious Gu family.

Gu Fu stumbled over, his old eyes glued to his little grandson, looking him up and down. Seeing Seeing Qian Bao wasn't missing any arms or legs, he let out a long sigh of relief.

"It's good that he's fine, it's good that he's fine."

He touched his grandson's head lovingly, "Our little Seeing Qian Bao has been badly frightened."

Fortunately, he was fine.

Seeing Qian Bao grinned at his grandfather with his little mouth and said softly: "Grandpa."

Gu Fu's anxious heart, "Ayy! Grandpa is here, your big uncle and second uncle are here too, don't be afraid, no one will ever be able to hurt our Seeing Qian Bao."

Meng Jiusi was also there; he had been pulled in for an emergency.

He wanted to hug his little nephew, but thinking Seeing Qian Bao didn't know him and fearing he would scare the child, he had to give up the idea, planning to wait until the child's emotions were more stable to secretly take his pulse.

Zhang Yongqiang had just caught his breath. His gaze shifted between Gu Chenghuai and little Seeing Qian Bao, and he suddenly frowned and asked: "Hey, by the way! Where is that sister Manyue?"

Noticing his gaze on him, Gu Chenghuai raised an eyebrow and asked back: "Who is this? Didn't see her."

"What?" Zhang Yongqiang's eyes were full of suspicion, and his voice involuntarily rose an octave, "How could you not have seen her? That Li family daughter-in-law from our brigade who can't bear children, wasn't it her who carried Seeing Qian Bao up the mountain?!"

"She carried my Seeing Qian Bao up the mountain? Why!" Gu Chenghuai's eyes were displeased, his expression slightly cold, his chest filled with anger, ready to erupt at any moment.

"This... I don't know yet, we have to find her first." Zhang Yongqiang felt a cold air rushing toward him, his limbs almost freezing, and he hurriedly explained.

"Woof woof..." Seeing Da Huang suddenly barked at a spot not far away.

It first walked toward that direction vigilantly, then stopped, turned its head to look at the crowd, and seeing no one following, let out a louder, more urgent bark.

Gu Yuanshan's heart stirred, and he said: "Is Seeing Da Huang asking us to follow it?"